Don Giovanni

2014Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

The serial seducer is on the loose again, in a new production from one
of the most provocative minds in opera today, David McVicar.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes’ Don is mad, he’s bad, he’s dangerous but,
damn him to hell, his serenades are just divine.

In the role he was born to sing, Teddy Tahu Rhodes’
powerful magnetism, dark-hued voice and imposing physique make being bad seem oh so
good.

Before Don Giovanni opens his mouth, before the curtain has even gone up, Mozart has
us jumping out of our skins with an earth-shattering D Minor chord from the pit: the
sound of the gates of hell juddering open.

Opera’s lecherous anti-hero has already been condemned – the work was
originally subtitled “the libertine punished”, after all.

But how do we judge the notorious ladies’ man today? Is he a sex addict,
or just a rich, randy player whose diversions have become an inexorable way
of life? Are fire and brimstone really his just desserts?

And in any case, isn’t he losing his touch?

Although his list of conquests extends beyond a staggering 2,000 names, we never
see him complete his ritual seduction – even if we hear some very persuasive
serenades along the way.

David McVicar teases out the psychological drama of these questions in a highly
anticipated new production and Australian debut from the leading opera director of
his generation.

And in the role he was born to sing, Teddy Tahu Rhodes’ powerful magnetism,
dark-hued voice and imposing physique make being bad seem oh so good. The Don has
met his match.